Software king of the world Microsoft has made another claim for its Edge browser – it is the only one which can run Netflix’s HD.

Redmond has been making all sorts of performance claims for Edge lately and it is safe to take most of them with a pinch of salt. But this latest one that you can only watch true 1080p content on Netflix over your PC, you need to use Microsoft’s Edge browser might actually be true.

A quick test of all four browsers by PCWorld proved this claim to be true showed that the other browsers were capped at 720p. Currently, Opera runs Netflix at a maximum resolution of 720p.

Microsoft has been doing its best to rehabilitate the Edge which, while better than Internet Exploder, lacked a lot of the functions which other browsers have offered for years. It seems that Redmond is trying to show us areas where Edge does better.

Microsoft slammed Google Chrome’s battery life, arguing that users on-the-go, and away from a power outlet, would be better served by Edge's superior power efficiency.

Now, Microsoft has publicized a Netflix support document, showing Netflix streams at 1080p on Internet Explorer and Edge, versus 720p on the other browsers. To do all this you have to use the “secret Netflix menus” unearthed by Reddit users (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D) to display the resolution and bitrate. But Microsoft’s claim actually was true.

In a blog post, Microsoft claimed Microsoft Edge was built to take advantage of platform features in Windows 10, including the PlayReady Content Protection and the media engine’s Protected Media Path.

The company said it is working with the Open Media Alliance to develop next-generation media formats, codecs, and other technologies for UltraHD video, and with chipset companies to develop Enhanced Content Protection that moves the protected media path into peripheral hardware for an even higher level of security, and one that could be used to protect 4K media.

The Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the best Android phones, but Fudzilla thinks the company is overcharging for a curved screen phone. Elephone has released a snap of what looks like decent hardware behind a curved screen for about $300.

The phone is expected in the coming weeks and the rumored price for the lower speced version is US $250. We expect that the higher version might end up much more expensive but it will still pennies compared to the Galaxy S7 Edge.

Elephone P9000 Edge has a 5.7 inch JDI display curved screen with a 2K resolution. The SoC is the Helio X25. Meizu initially had an exclusive for this three cluster, deca-core SoC, but now other partners can and are using this 2.5GHz clocked power house.

The phone comes with a full metal body, AAC speakers and a dual main camera setup with ultra-fast focus. The phone even has the fingerprint unlock as well as a mute / silent locker.

There will be at least two versions of the phone, a standard one with 4GB RAM and 32GB of storage and a 6GB Ram and 128GB storage. Since the Elephone P9000, which sold close to $200 (with Helio P10 octa-core SoC) runs Android 6.0 out of the box, it is safe to assume that the Edge version of the phone will do the same.

Meizu's CEO Huang Zhang a well-known info leaker has shared a picture of a curved Meizu phone that is expected later this year.

We don't have much specific information other than the picture of the device which Huang shared. One can always put on the imagination hat and assume that this is going to be a bigger and more powerful version of just announced Meizu 6 Pro powered with MediaTek's Helio X25.

Usually there is a bigger screen phone with Samsung Exynos processor and many news outlets are suggesting that there might be an edge curved phone with Exynos 8890 coming. A previously leaked roadmap that was proved somewhat accurate indicated that there is a Exynos 8890 phone with 1440 display resolution, a 5.7 inch Super Amoled screen, UFS 3.0, mTouch 3.1, HiFi 3.0, and a 3500 mAh battery.

Meizu confused the market announcing the Meizu 6 Pro with a 5.2 screen and a Helio X25. Usually the Pro version came with a 5.7 inch screen and Exynos SoCs. The Meizu 6 Pro has Helio X25 clocked at 2.5 GHz, 4GB of RAM, 5.2 inch super Amoled 1080p screen and 32 or 64GB storage.

It looks like market has reacted well to a curved screen and the Galaxy Edge and now players including Vivo, Meizu and probably a few more want to take advantage of a bit rounded screen that makes your phone stand out from similar looking devices.

A new preview of build (14342) of Windows 10 has zipped out to Insiders on the Fast Ring, and this finally sees extensions become fully functional and easy to install in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft Edge has been a chocolate teapot for many Windows 10 users because using it means having your screen flooded with adverts because you can’t use Adbloc plus or virus checking extensions.

Previously, a handful of extensions have been available, but they've had to be side-loaded manually by the user. With this update Edge extensions can be downloaded straight from the Windows Store.

Redmond has also released some new extensions with this build, namely AdBlock and Adblock Plus. These join the original extensions released, which were Mouse Gestures, Reddit Enhancement Suite and Microsoft Translator, along with OneNote Web Clipper and Pin It Button.

Old extensions previously are purged from the system and will need to be re-downloaded them from the Windows Store.

Microsoft has also brought real-time web notifications to the Edge browser, meaning that if you give a website permission, it can whizz notifications across to you via the Action Centre. And Redmond's browser also now has swipe support for touchscreens, so you can simply swipe across anywhere on a web page to go back to the previous site.

It appears that Microsoft Edge’s InPrivate mode is about as private as a Hollywood starlet in an iCloud account.

Edge's InPrivate mode is supposed to cover your online tracks, but it apparently it records browsing history in InPrivate mode. This makes it a doddle for someone looking at the WebCache file to reconstruct full browsing history, regardless of whether surfing was performed in regular or InPrivate mode.

Forensic Focus, researcher Ashish Singh said most web browsers don't have a provision for storing the details of privately browsed web sessions. But Edge stores websites visited in private mode in the browser’s WebCache file.

The reason is to retrieve crashed private sessions but skilled investigator can use it to get evidence against a person’s wrongdoings.

Microsoft is aware of the problem, and says it is investigating. Redmond is clearly going to fix it but it weird that a key aspect of private browsing could be so fantastically borked.

Speedwise Edge is a pretty good product but the reason we don’t use it is that it launched unable to use extensions. With its private browsing feature also a chocolate teapot, the only feature we can use is the reader friendly screen. But it is not worth it.

Software giant Microsoft has released Build 11102 of its Edge browser to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring, however it has warned gamers that they might have a few problems with it.

When the upgrade went live with last week’s PC build, Insiders discovered a bug where the cache for Insider Hub wasn’t properly refreshing – preventing new content from showing up in a timely manner.

Some PC games will crash switching from windowed mode to full screen, upon game resolution change, or upon launch due to a bug in Windows graphics stack. It has been seen with The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed, and Metal Gear Solid V but it may occur with other titles as well.

Apparently, your wireless card may suddenly report that it is incompatible with Windows 10, requiring you to seek out the most recent driver. Other bugs include potential crashes with the Magnifier and Narrator assistive technologies, and a WSClient.dll error as well.

What is causing all this is Microsoft improvements to OneCore, which is the central technology that connects Windows 10 for phones, tablets, and PCs. The updates are only being seen by those on the Insider Programme, so in other words no one among the great unwashed of gamers will be harmed. In fact it is going to be sorted out long before Edge users in the real world see it.

However it does mean that we get a charge to peek under the bonnet of how the software is developed, something which would have been alien to Microsoft a few years ago and is the Status Quo at Apple these days. Of course it does mean those at the bleeding edge might suffer a bit.

Microsoft’s Edge, formally known as Spartan, appears to be grinding to a halt and no-one seems to be caring much about it.

When we first upgraded to Windows 10, one of the sales points was the Edge browser which was hugely fast – so fast that we were prepared to live with the lack of extensions like Ad-bloc Pro.

Over the last month, Edge has been getting slower. Part of the problem is that it spends ages trying to download banner adverts before letting you scroll down to read a page.

But it is a lot more than that. Edge can take up to a minute to download a page and just seems to have a snooze for no apparent reason.

We thought it was something to do with our settings, but a quick search shows that the problem is common. Looking through the various boards we find that there a lots of people venting their spleen against Edge. Some have had even larger problems including complete browser freezes.

Varying suggestions for a fix have been made. For example there is disabling Java script – we have not tried this because too much of our web-based work depends on it.

Going back to Internet Exploder is not an option as Windows 10 refuses to run it so the only real option is Chrome, Firefox or Opera.

The question remains is how did Edge go downhill so fast? When the browser was being tested, we and others thought it was a notable improvement on IE. But as it bedded in, it appears to be buggy and now nearly useless. It feels like something went wrong with one of WIndows 10's updates. But since Redmond does not tell us what these updates are any more it is impossible to roll-back.

Why, as the complaints are rising, is Microsoft not doing anything about it. It was rumoured that one of the updates fixed the problem, but when it came out it only made matters worse.

Samsung has been showing off a new Galaxy Note phablet and a larger version of its curved-screen S6 edge smartphone.

The move is seen as an attempt by Samsung to revive momentum in its handset business which has been slumping lately.

The event announcing the new gadgets was attended by more than 1,000 people, almost filling the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Centre in New York.

Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ start on Thursday and the smartphones will be made available from August 21.

In the US, the Galaxy Note 5 will be available via AT&T at $739.99 for the 32GB variant, and $839.99 for the 64GB variant, while the Galaxy S6 Edge+ will be priced at $814.99 for the 32GB and $914.99 for the 64GB.

Samsung said the Galaxy Note 5 will only be made available in select markets, while the Galaxy S6 Edge+ will be more widely available.

The camera app can be opened from the home button, which also bears the fingerprint sensor. There is also a Live Broadcast feature for tourists who think that people can't wait to be bored by their holiday snaps and want a live feed.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ both have no microSD card slots, and feature 3000mAh non-removable batteries.

Samsung said the batteries feature its Fast Charging technology for both wired and wireless (WPC and PMA) options. Wired charging will deliver full charge in roughly 90 minutes, and with the new wireless charger, full charge is delivered in roughly 120 minutes, said Samsung.

The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ will be offered in 4G LTE Cat. 9 or Cat. 6 modems depending on the market.

The phones also feature NFC and MST, to power the Samsung Pay mobile payment technology. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/ A-GPS, and Micro-USB 2.0. There was no USB Type-C which was one of the rumours we heard.

The Samsung Galaxy Edge+ measures 154.4x75.8x6.9mm, and weighs 153 grams, while the Galaxy Note 5 is both thicker and heavier, with dimensions of 153.2x76.1x7.6mm, and a weight of 171 grams. The two smartphones will be available in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, and Silver Titanium colour variants.

Samsung said the stylus now features a one-click mechanism to eject it from the main smartphone body.

The company also unveiled BlackBerry-like Keyboard Covers, which fit like alpha-numeric condoms on the bottom of the phone making it look rather ugly.

They will fit on both the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ smartphones.

Samsung also announced support for its SideSync feature, which provides a 'wired PC-smartphone integration'. Both phones also feature Samsung Knox Active Protection, and the My Knox app. An Amanda Knox feature, which you can use to escape a murder charge in Italy by being American and a little bit pretty was not released this time.

The dual-edge display of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ comes with a new UI feature called Apps Edge to take advantage of the curved display, over and above the People Edge feature seen in the S6 Edge. It similarly allows users to pin commonly used apps to the side display, for quick access.

Samsung has high hopes for the Note. "Each new version has been more popular than the last," said Justin Denison, vice president of product strategy and marketing for Samsung Electronics America.

Microsoft has said that its new browser for Windows 10, the Edge will come with support for Dolby Audio.

The big idea is that you can have high-performance audio when visiting websites and loading apps using this format.

Writing in its bog, Microsoft said: "It allows websites to match the compelling visuals of H.264 video with equally compelling multi-channel audio. It works well with AVC/H.264 video and also with our previously announced HLS and MPEG DASH Type 1 streaming features, which both support integrated playback of an HLS or DASH manifest."

Windows 10 also comes with Dolby Digital Plus codec support, so the overall sound experience in the new operating system should be greatly improved with both speakers and headphones. The sound will be louder and clearer, the company promises, and this should be valid not only for PCs but also for portable devices such as mobile phones.

While we are big fans of sound technology we are not really sure about this one. Dolby is about noise reduction and we don't to that many noisy sites. The only time I ever heard any hiss from a browser was when we were trying out Apple's Safari and that turned out to be me.

It is starting to look like the glorious WinTel alliance which once ruled the known world is back together, if you look at what has been the secret sauce behind Microsoft's new Edge Browser it turns out that it is Intel,

The Edge is proving to be rather good and it appears that the reason is that Intel gave its former ally a hand.

"Intel has been contributing to Chakra, the JavaScript engine for Microsoft Edge (and previously Internet Explorer), since 2012, bringing their expertise in web runtime development and JIT code generation."

Chipzilla has been offering significant contributions to open source projects like WebKit, Blink, Gecko but this time Redmond has been helped out with performance-based improvements to the Edge browser.

Microsoft and Intel began their collaboration with Chakra back in the days of Windows 8.1. Intel offered direct contributions to the Chakra JIT compiler to include better scheduling and instruction selections. In Windows 10,

Intel engineers are working closely with Microsoft to deliver Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD).By using SIMD Edge will result in much faster code execution. This process becomes useful when the browser is processing multimedia, games, and other resource-intensive applications.

Microsoft wanted to combine this technology with others like asm.js to spike JavaScript performance at near native speeds.

SIMD is only for a limited subset of scenarios that use asm.js and are running on x86 and x64 hardware. Both Intel and Microsoft teams want to expand them in support of Chakra and Microsoft Edge.

Also in regards to SIMD, Intel has helped with the performance improvements to the graphics layout and other subsystems of Microsoft Edge. Chipzilla was optimized the navigation time for pages containing several inline elements and optimization to reduce DOM parse for text-area elements.